Hodgson EM, Fahmi R, Yates N, Barraclough T, Shield I, Allison G, Bridgwater AV, Donnison IS. Miscanthus as a feedstock for fast-pyrolysis: does agronomic treatment affect quality?
Bioresour Technol 2010;
101:6185-91. [PMID:
20338753 DOI:
10.1016/j.biortech.2010.03.024]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2009] [Revised: 01/08/2010] [Accepted: 03/04/2010] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The objectives of the experiment were to assess the impact of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertiliser application on the cell wall composition and fast-pyrolysis conversion quality of the commercially cultivated hybrid Miscanthus x giganteus. Five different fertiliser treatments were applied to mature Miscanthus plants which were sampled at five intervals over a growing season. The different fertiliser treatments produced significant variation in concentrations of cell wall components and ash within the biomass and affected the composition and quality of the resulting fast-pyrolysis liquids. The results indicated that application of high rates of N fertiliser had a negative effect on feedstock quality for this conversion pathway: reducing the proportion of cell wall components and increasing accumulation of ash in the harvested biomass. No exclusive effect of potassium fertiliser was observed. The low-N fertiliser treatment produced high quality, low ash-high lignin biomass most suitable as a feedstock for thermo-chemical conversion.
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